Millennium Graphics + Universal Graphix = Universal Millennium
Two of the largest privately-owned Massachusetts print companies merge to form new entity
Millennium Graphics, with the financial muscle of its private equity parent, Calvert Street Capital Partners, has bought Universal Graphix, Inc., a multi-faceted printing operation in Rockland, Mass. with more than $50 million in annual sales. The name for the newly formed company is Universal Millennium, Inc.

The acquisition was disclosed May 1st in a news release on the web site of the Baltimore-based Calvert Street Capital Partners. That firm acquired Millennium Graphics in February 2006 in partnership with the Millennium management team of Tony Escobar, Kurt A. Manchester and Tome Andrade.

Terms of the Universal Graphix acquisition have not been disclosed, but the news release stated the combined operations of the newly formed company will be located in the eastern Massachusetts communities of Westwood, Rockland and Somerville.

Westwood is the location of a renovation project that was destined to be the new location for Millennium Graphics.

Rockland was the headquarters of Universal Graphix, where that company got its start as a print manufacturing operation known as Graphic Services.

And Somerville is where the former United Lithograph plant is located. That operation was bought by Graphic Services in 2006 and prompted the company name change to Universal Graphix.

In its news release, Calvert Street Capital Partners stated “The acquisition will enable Universal Millennium to leverage its graphic arts technology and reputation for customer service to broaden its marketing services capabilities, with printing (sheetfed, digital, and web), fulfillment, mailing, prepress production and information management services provided through one integrated source. These services will be provided through three state-of-the-art production facilities located in Somerville, Rockland and Westwood, Mass.” 

Roadmap to current company
Prior to the acquisition, Bill Fitzgerald was owner and president of Universal Graphix. He started Graphic Services in 1989 and for most of its early years the company served the marketplace as a print brokerage firm placing much of its work with Intercity Press and Charles River Lithography.

Fitzgerald eventually acquired both companies and became fully engaged in print manufacturing.

He bought Intercity Press and its three cold web presses in 2001, and he acquired Charles River Lithography two years later. By the end of 2004, sales had topped $30 million.

In July 2006, Graphic Services also acquired United Lithograph in Somerville from national consolidator Cenveo, and changed its name to Universal Graphix.

Fitzgerald retained all of United Lithograph’s employees and bolstered the sheetfed and digital capability with equipment and process upgrades at the Somerville location. He also decided to keep the Somerville location in operation. The acquisition boosted the annual sales of Fiztgerald’s company to the neighborhood of $50 million.

Around the same time Fitzgerald was completing his strategic acquisitions, Millennium Graphics, which was started in 2000 by Tony Escobar and several partners, was making moves as well.

In February 2006, Calvert Street Capital Partners acquired Millennium in partnership with Escobar, Manchester and Andradre. About six months later, Millennium purchased Merrill Corp.’s sheetfed printing operation in Everett.

The core of that business was the former Daniels Printing Company, the venerable company that remained under ownership of the Daniels family for more than 100 years until it was acquired by Merrill Corp. in 1999 during a halcyon period of acquisitions of major printing companies across the country.

Since that 2006 acquisition, most of the Daniels printing operation has been consolidated at Millennium’s Norwood headquarters. Millennium plans to move to a larger facility in nearby Westwood in the coming months.

No other information has been disclosed about the make up of the new Universal Millennium.

About CSCP
CSCP makes control investments in domestic lower middle market manufacturing and service companies. Founded in 1994, CSCP has a proven “buy and build” strategy that identifies scalable platform companies with opportunities for internal expansion as well as growth through selective add-on acquisitions. CSCP acquires family-owned companies that operate in fragmented industries with a predictable and repetitive demand for products and services. CSCP seeks to add value to these businesses by building larger, more professionally managed enterprises. 

The private equity firm actively seeks new investment opportunities consisting of control investments in manufacturing and business service companies ranging in size from $20 million to $100 million in annual revenues that generate $3 million or more per year in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.